How the Rule 5 Draft Went on Thursday for the Indians

The 2019 MLB Winter Meetings came to a close on Thursday, and unlike last season when on the last day the Indians were involved in a flurry of moves which included bringing back Carlos Santana, this time the final day of the meetings was rather quiet.

As is always the case on the final day of the meetings, the Indians were part of the Rule 5 Draft, but from a Major League perspective there was no activity for the Indians.

The team did select a player from the Triple-A Phase, that being 25-year-old right-handed pitcher Daniel Young, who comes to the Indians from the New Hampshire roster of the Toronto Blue Jays organization.

Last season Young split the season between AA New Hampshire and AAA Buffalo, posting a combined ERA of 2.76 in 38 relief appearances (49.0IP, 41H, 15ER, 26BB, 42SO).

Lefty hitters hit just .203 (16-for-79) against him on the year. Young was an eighth round pick for the Jays in the 2015 draft out of the University of Florida. He owns a five-year professional ERA of 3.62 in 160 relief outings (88ER/219.0IP).

The team also acquired righty pitcher Jhon Peluffo from Baltimore’s AA Bowie roster in the second round of the Triple-A Phase.

The 22-year-old spent most of 2019 in Class-A Delmarva of the South Atlantic League, posting a combined ERA of 2.49 (68.2IP, 42H, 19ER, 31BB, 67SO) in 33 relief appearances between Delmarva and High-A Frederick.

He was signed by the Orioles as an amateur free agent in 2014 and owns a 3.91 ERA in 119 professional appearances (63GS/179ER/412.1IP).

The Indians lost three players overall in the Rule 5 draft, as the Oriole picked up outfielder Christopher Cespedes from the Indians Arizona Rookie League roster.

Another player lost from the Tribe’s Arizona Rookie League roster was catcher Jose Colina, who was picked up by the Oakland A’s.

Finally the Orioles picked up infielder Wilbis Santiago from the Indians Single-A Lynchburg roster.